Scattershot news

Americans throw away 40 percent of their food every day

Less government...

Someone who is very displeased with Windows 8.

Why Pennsylvania's Voter ID Law Is Unconstitutional

But will the pharmaceuticals let this kid ruin their business?  I bet no.

Depression comes from eating too much trans-fats.

Never insult an Irishman:

Michael D. Higgins (who was elected president of Ireland last year) is fed up with over-the-top Tea Party rhetoric, and he isn't afraid to show it. Listen to him call out radio host Michael Graham on everything from health care to foreign policy in this heated exchange from 2010. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one.

The Drought Map.  And those who make money off of food shortages caused by drought.

The Problem with Men Explaining Things.

Just don't throw bottles and get into brawls...

Happy March 17th and all that comes with it

March 17th and all that comes with it

Cats and music....

When adults have unquestioned power over children

It often is misused:

DUBLIN (AFP) – A shocking new report has identified hundreds of victims of child sex abuse by Irish Catholic priests, officials said Tuesday, two months after a landmark study found "endemic" mistreatment.

A government-appointed commission of investigation headed by a judge has been probing allegations of abuse by priests in the archdiocese of Dublin -- the country's biggest -- since March 2006.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has warned that the report -- presented to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern on Tuesday -- would "shock us all."

It is the first time the state has investigated how the once-powerful Church in mainly Catholic Ireland has run its affairs.

It probed whether the Church reported abuse allegations or attempted to "obstruct, prevent or interfere with the proper investigation" of complaints.

A spokeswoman for the archdiocese said the Church authorities had identified between 400 and 450 people that allege they were abused by one of 152 Dublin priests since 1940.

"I would like to stress that that is a very conservative estimate and is likely to rise," she told AFP.

Will the Catholic Church actually learn from this? Is it possible? We can only wait and see....

How about putting one at the Golden Gate Bridge?

An underwater turbine that generates electricity from tidal streams was plugged into the UK's national grid today. It marks the first time a commercial-scale underwater turbine has fed power into the network and the start of a new source of renewable energy for the UK.

Tidal streams are seen by many as a plentiful and predictable supply of clean energy. The most conservative estimates suggest there is at least five gigawatts of power in tidal flows around the country, but there could be as much as 15GW.

The trial at Strangford Lough, in Northern Ireland, uses a device called SeaGen and generates power at 150kW. However, engineers have plans to increase power to 300kW by the end of the summer. When it is eventually running at full power SeaGen will have an output of 1,200 kW, enough for about 1,000 homes.

Actually... the most efficient thing would to be to build a wind turbine on the Capitol Hill...

March 17th

Update: Inspired by Sorghum Crow in comments:

Something to clear your mind

After reading the effing news:



(posted this last year in honor of March 17th.)

One step forward, one step back....

The Irish teenager gains the right to travel for an abortion:

An Irish teenager has won a High Court battle in Dublin to be allowed to visit Britain for an abortion.

The 17-year old was told by doctors her four-month foetus would not live more than a few days beyond its birth.

She is in the care of the Irish Republic's health service, which had issued an order stopping her from going to Britain.

Abortion is illegal in the Republic except when the mother is threatened by a medical condition or a suicide risk.

Thousands of Irish women get around the ban by privately travelling to Britain, where abortion was legalised in 1967, to undergo terminations.

The Irish Republic has a constitutional ban on abortion, but in 1992 made it legal to receive information about foreign abortion services and to travel for abortions in Britain.

An estimated 7,000 women travel outside Ireland each year to terminate unwanted pregnancies.

The pope says every politician who voted for abortion rights is going to Hell:

The Pope says he's in favour of excommunicating Roman Catholic politicians who support a proposed law allowing women to have abortions in Mexico City.

That'll show'em!

Something to blow your hair back a bit

(Via Unrepentant Hippie) Just in time to say goodby to March 17th, the Podges: